Then the film takes us back 55 years to 1893 which was the first event of significance that started to shape the man, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi into the prominent spiritual and political figure that he would become. In the beginning of the film, after Gandhi is killed, 300,000 extras were used during his funeral scene.

Interesting note: The movie actually holds a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the use of the most extras in any one scene. Actually, this was spoken in his native language as, “He Ram!” referring to the Hindu god Rama. He was able to utter the words “Oh, God!” before falling. He was assassinated – shot three times at point-blank range. It does something that I have seen other films do and it is an effective tactic to capture the interest of a viewer. The first thing about the movie that caught my attention was its beginning. That makes two actors who were in the previous year’s Best Picture winner, Chariots of Fire, that had parts in Gandhi, the other being Ian Charleson. Interesting note: Another actor had a few minutes of screen-time: Sir John Gielgud. All of their roles, with the exception of Hattangadi were fairly small, but the actors stood out to me, partly because they were recognizable names that I am familiar with, and because they are good actors. Other notable actors in the film were Rohini Hattangadi as Kasturba Gandhi, Gandhi’s wife, Candice Bergen as Margaret Bourke-White, a reporter, Martin Sheen as Vince Walker, a journalist, and Ian Charleson as Reverend Charles Freer Andrews, one of Gandhi’s early supporters and close friend.

Interesting note: The Academy Award nominated Soundtrack was composed by Ravi Shankar and George Fenton, though they did not win. Other wins included Best Original Screenplay (John Briley), Best Cinematography (Billy Williams and Ronnie Taylor), Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Film Editing. In fact, the film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, and won 8 of them. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough, who also won an Oscar for Best Director. He is a great actor, but even more than that, he really looked like the real Gandhi. He was played by actor Ben Kingsley, who won the Best Actor Award for his portrayal. Gandhi is the man who made the term passive resistance really mean something. But it only covered his life from 1893 to his death in 1948. Gandhi was, of course, a historical figure, making this film somewhat biographical.

The story spanned a 55 year period in history. In keeping with the far reaching effects of the man, the movie had lofty and inspiring themes, some amazing cinematography, exotic and yet very appropriate music, and an impressive cast with thousands of extras. The subject matter was a man who changed history. The story was told on a grand, world changing scale. The Godfather? Even The Deer Hunter? I don’t think so. The last Best Picture winner I can really put into that category was Patton in 1970. Films seem to have gotten away from telling epic stories. Gandhi was a wonderful step back into the world of the epic.

Gandhi movie cast historical compare